I sit here in the early morning light remembering over thirty years ago after walking my dog Sasha in a local park, finding a litter of newborn kittens inside a fallen log. I can’t take credit for the find- Sasha alerted me to their existence and it was a foggy, Southern California morning and the kittens were huddled together for warmth. There was no adult cat in sight, so I took the wee ones, bundled them up in my coat and took them home.
When my then husband, Don came home from work that night, he found me in tears- all the kittens had died.
Back then, there was no instant help available. Local vets were not knowledgeable about the tiny ones- they were schooled with only kittens of 6 months of age or older. There was no Internet, no ap on the phone- no one to call. Despite all I did, and I did it ALL wrong- the kittens faded.
I swore that day that I would learn all I could about these newborn kittens and other cats and when the chance came to share my knowledge, I would do so gratefully. And thus, my path was set and over the ten years of our marriage, both Don and I worked side-by-side trying to help the abandoned ones that God placed in my path. The man back then was as patient as a saint and he tried to help as best he could. Just like the man today is helping me with these cats and kittens.
Pippi picked up on my restless spirit last night. I could barely sleep, thinking about Don and our once life and remembering days of long past that led me to the journey of today.
Pippi is eating, she took her meds. I am now crushing them up and mixing them with baby food along with the other supplements- pet tinc, vitamin c and powdered deer antler. She has refused the raw chicken livers and I can’t blame her for that one- but the other kittens love the raw livers so they won’t go to waste. I won’t eat them liver in any form is just yucky!
And so Life goes on in spurts and sputters and the day is starting. Time to get the cats fed, the dog fed, the husband fed and then there are deadlines to meet as well. Three articles due in three weeks- but that’s okay, I have many muses here to inspire me-
Pippi’s diet:
2/3 raw meat
cod liver oil
1/3raw milk
dusted with vitamin c powder
No more kitty crack for this baby!
My first three infant kittens were found by firefighters in the fall in an abandoned home and I thought the most important thing for them was to feed them because I thought they were starving. Only one survived and I still have her today. I think they were a week old when I got them and I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing. It was scary and sad but it gave me a fire inside that made me want to do more and learn how to do it better and you were there to teach me along my path of hits and misses. I am grateful that I had the internet and books to reference. I don’t know that I would be able to continue without it. You also helped me with my feral fosters (I seriously would follow what you wrote down to a T just to get it right). I don’t do bottle babies anymore because I’ve filled my home with ferals but thank you for being my guide. You have taught me so much and I’m sure my cats appreciate it!